Free Web NovelChapter 62: What really happened to Felix part 1
( this Chapter is told from raina’s pov)
Raina stared at the message on her phone for what felt like the hundredth time.
I know what happened to Felix.
The words remained exactly the same no matter how many times she reread them. Yet her eyes kept returning to the screen as though some hidden meaning might suddenly reveal itself if she looked long enough. It was irrational, and she knew it, but that didn’t stop the uneasy feeling curling in her stomach.
Who could have sent it?
Her first instinct had been Malcolm. He was the obvious suspect. Malcolm already knew more about her past than anyone should, and he certainly possessed the resources to uncover things that most people couldn’t. The theory made sense for all of five seconds before she dismissed it. Malcolm wasn’t subtle. He wasn’t the sort of man who hid behind anonymous messages or played psychological games. If he wanted something from her, he would ask for it directly.
Susan crossed her mind next.
That possibility died even faster.
Susan didn’t care enough about Felix to send something like this. To her, Felix was merely another piece of a much larger story, another casualty in a chain of events that ultimately led back to Ethan. Everything in Susan’s world revolved around Ethan. Every grudge, every accusation, every obsession eventually circled back to him.
No.
This was somebody else.
Somebody who knew something they had absolutely no business knowing.
Her grip tightened around the phone.
X-Reveals.
The anonymous account had spent months digging into things that were supposed to stay buried. It had a habit of surfacing whenever she least needed it, dropping hints and fragments of information before disappearing again. More than once, it had demonstrated knowledge that should have been impossible for a stranger to possess.
That explanation made the most sense. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Unfortunately, it also created another problem.
Why now?
Years had passed since Felix disappeared. If someone truly knew what happened, why wait until now to make contact? Why choose this moment?
And more importantly...
How much did they actually know?
Before she could continue down that line of thought, her phone suddenly rang.
A restricted number.
The sight of it sent a chill through her body.
For several seconds she simply stared at the screen while it vibrated in her hand. Every instinct told her not to answer. Curiosity won anyway.
"Hello?"
Static crackled through the speaker.
For a moment she wondered if nobody was there at all.
Then a voice spoke.
It sounded wrong. Artificial. Deliberately distorted.
"If you want to know how much I know," the voice said calmly, "and you don’t want the rest of the world finding out, meet me at 111 Old Lane way, Rose Valley. Six p.m. Don’t be late."
Raina straightened immediately.
"Wait—"
The line went dead.
Silence settled over the room.
Slowly, she lowered the phone and stared at the dark screen. Her pulse had already begun to quicken.
Whoever had contacted her knew enough to be dangerous.
The only question was whether they knew everything.
Before she could stop herself, her thoughts drifted backward.
Back to the day everything had gone wrong.
Back to Felix.
------------------------
At the time, they had called it a break. Space. Time apart. A chance to think. Looking back, the label seemed almost laughable. Their relationship had been unraveling for months, and both of them had known it.
Felix kept asking questions she couldn’t answer.
Why was she so distant lately?
Why did she always seem distracted?
Why did she spend more time watching other people than talking about herself?
Every conversation became an argument. Every argument left them more exhausted than the last.
That afternoon she had returned to her apartment expecting silence and solitude. Instead, a knock sounded at the door.
The moment she opened it, her heart sank.
Felix stood on the other side.
His hair was a mess. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He looked like someone who hadn’t slept properly in days.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Weren’t you staying with your brother?"
Felix brushed past her before she finished speaking.
"Couldn’t sleep."
The apartment door clicked shut behind them.
"Felix."
She followed him into the living room.
"You can’t just walk in."
"Why not?"
The irritation in his voice immediately put her on edge.
Felix scanned the apartment before turning back toward her.
"Do you have somebody here?"
"What?"
"Is there another guy?"
For a moment she genuinely thought he was joking.
Then she saw his expression.
He wasn’t.
"Felix, what are you talking about?"
"Answer the question."
"There isn’t anyone here."
He studied her face for several long seconds, searching for something. Finally he shook his head.
"I want to believe you."
The words came out quietly.
"But I don’t."
Something twisted painfully inside her chest.
Before she could stop him, Felix headed toward the bedroom.
"Felix."
No response.
"Felix, wait."
He ignored her and pushed open the door.
"What exactly are you hiding from me, Himari?"
"Nothing."
The lie sounded weak even to her own ears.
Felix clearly thought so too.
Without another word, he began searching the room. He checked the bathroom first, then the closet, then the storage cabinet tucked into the corner. Every place a person could reasonably hide became a target of his suspicion.
"There is nobody here."
"Oh really?"
Frustration dripped from every word.
"Then tell me what’s going on with you."
Raina looked away.
It was a small movement. Barely noticeable.
Unfortunately, Felix noticed everything.
The moment her gaze shifted, something changed in his expression. Suspicion hardened into certainty. He didn’t know what she was hiding, but he became convinced she was hiding something.
Then fate decided to make everything worse.
As Felix stepped forward, the floor beneath him creaked.
The sharp groan of old wood echoed through the room.
Both of them froze.
Felix looked down.
Then he shifted his weight.
The floor answered with the same sound.
Raina felt her stomach drop so suddenly it was almost painful.
No.
Anything but that.
"What was that?" Felix asked.
"Nothing."
The answer came far too quickly.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"What is under here?"
"Felix..."
He crouched.
Her pulse exploded.
"Please don’t."
But he wasn’t listening anymore.
The edge of the rug lifted.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The hidden compartment beneath the floorboards revealed itself.
And genuine fear flooded through her.
Because she knew exactly what was inside.
For several long seconds neither of them moved.
Felix remained crouched beside the compartment, his hand resting on the exposed floorboard. Raina stood frozen a few feet away, every muscle in her body locked with tension.
She already knew what was about to happen.
And she knew there was no stopping it.
Slowly, Felix reached inside and pulled out a box.
It wasn’t large.
Just an ordinary storage box with a slightly worn lid.
Yet the moment he set it on the bed, it felt heavier than anything either of them had ever carried.
"Felix..." she said quietly.
He ignored her.
The lid came off.
Silence filled the room.
At first, he simply stared.
Then he reached inside and pulled out a photograph.
His brow furrowed.
A second photograph followed.
Then a third.
Confusion slowly gave way to disbelief.
"What is this?"
The question came out almost as a whisper.
Raina couldn’t answer.
Felix continued digging through the contents of the box.
Photographs.
Dozens of them.
Hundreds.
They spilled across the bedspread and drifted onto the floor around his feet.
Every single one featured the same person.
Ethan.
Ethan walking across campus.
Ethan sitting beneath a tree with a textbook in his lap.
Ethan laughing with friends.
Ethan leaving a lecture hall.
Ethan drinking coffee.
Ethan talking to Susan.
Ethan at parties.
Ethan crossing the street.
Ethan existing.
Always Ethan.
The room seemed to shrink with every photograph Felix uncovered.
His breathing became uneven.
His hands trembled.
"What the hell is this?"
This time the question came out louder.
Sharper.
More demanding.
He grabbed another photograph.
Then another.
Then another.
His eyes darted across the growing collection surrounding him.
Years of observations.
Years of attention.
Years of fixation.
All of it centered around a man who wasn’t him.
"Oh my God."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
A bitter laugh followed.
One completely devoid of humor.
"Oh my God."
Finally, his gaze lifted and settled on Raina.
The look in his eyes made her chest tighten painfully.
Because it wasn’t anger.
Not yet.
It was realization.
The kind that permanently changes how someone sees another person.
"I was such a fool."
"Felix—"
"No."
His voice cracked.
He looked away from her and back toward the photographs.
"I should have known."
His hands trembled as he picked up another picture.
"I should have known every time I caught you staring at him."
Tears began burning behind Raina’s eyes.
"Felix, please—"
"I thought you were lonely."
The bitterness in his voice was almost unbearable.
"I thought you were struggling."
A harsh laugh escaped him.
"I thought maybe you were having a hard time adjusting."
He gestured toward the photographs scattered around the room.
"I didn’t know this."
The word seemed to echo through the apartment.
This.
Whatever this was.
Whatever she was.
Raina swallowed hard.
Every photograph Felix touched felt like another layer of skin being peeled away. Years of secrets were scattered across the floor for him to examine at his leisure. There was nowhere left to hide.
"Please let me explain."
Felix stared at her.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then he laughed again.
The sound was quieter now.
Less angry.
More exhausted.
"Explain what?"
He held up a photograph.
"Explain this?"
Another.
"Or this?"
A third.
"Or this?"
Each photograph felt like an accusation.
Each one exposed another piece of a truth she had spent years trying to bury.
Because how exactly did you explain obsession?
How did you explain spending years watching someone from a distance?
How did you explain building your entire world around a person who didn’t even know the extent of your feelings?
There was no explanation that sounded sane.
No explanation that sounded healthy.
And Felix knew it.
So did she.
(To be continued in the next Chapter .....)
